On the BBC website, comes a nice article on the unique characteristics of Canadian English, influenced by both England and the U.S. along with uniquely Canadian elements arising from its culture and its bilingualism in French.
The founding English-speaking people of Canada were United Empire Loyalists – people who fled American independence and were rewarded with land in Canada. Thus Canadian English was, from its very beginning, both American – because its speakers had come from the American colonies – and not American, because they rejected the newly independent nation.And where Canadian retirees choose to spend their winters, fleeing the northern cold. Understand I mean no criticism, the DrsC are "snowbirds" too.
Canadianisms stand as evidence of the difference between Canadian and American culture. It is very important for Canadians to maintain that difference, even if people from Vancouver sound more like people from San Francisco than people from San Francisco sound like people from San Antonio. Though English-speaking Canadians remain loyal to the Queen, they aren’t truly interested in being British or sounding British; they’re just interested in using the British connection to assert their independence from the independent United States, which they left because they didn’t want to leave.
My favorite "Canadianism" is calling electricity "hydro," coming from hydroelectric power which is common in much of Canada. I remember an RV campground host, pointing to an electric connection, saying "You can hook up to hydro there." To my untutored ear "hydro" sounded like water, which of course it technically means. He had no idea I didn't know hydro was another term for the electric line, what down under they call "the mains."
